Penalty
by SakuraKiss444
Summary: There is a town, a relatively small town, called Hope's Peak, which is home to two rare species of animal, Monomi and Monokuma. The penalty for killing one of these creatures is undoubtedly death. -Naekuro, character death


There is a town, quite a small town, actually, where there are only two things that keep it from being another of those rumpy-dumpy boring towns that is only driven through to get somewhere better.

One; there is a natural wildlife reserve. This wildlife reserve holds the landmark responsible for the little town's name, and also holds two of the rarest species in the world: Monomi, and Monokuma.

Monomi and Monokuma are two completely different, but equally rare species of animals that only live in the wildlife reserve. The Monomi is a small pink and white rabbit that travels in small herds, only eating the petals off one type of flower: the Hope Flower. The petals are commonly known to the people in the town as 'Hope Shards', and the flower is also protected. The Monokuma is a type of bear that is black on the left side and white on the right, with one red eye and one black eye. The stomach is completely white, the only white that intrudes on the side with the black fur. Monokuma live in tiny packs of a single family; four to five bears; and feed off berries and fish. Their food can be found almost anywhere in the world, but the Monokuma decided to live in the reserve, where poaching is punishable by a ¥1,000,000 fine, and, if the poaching was more than three Monomi or two Monokuma, execution.

The second saving grace of this tiny town, which should obviously be named, this tiny town, Hope's Peak, named after the peak in the middle of the wildlife reserve, was that almost every famous youth in the last ten years was born and raised in Hope's Peak. Maizono Sayaka, the beautiful lead singer in an up-and-coming idol group, Kuwata Leon, the best baseball player in Japan, Hanamura Teruteru, one of the world's greatest chefs, Koizumi Mahiru, a young photographer who's photos had won awards across the globe, Mioda Ibuki, a singer in a light-music band, which had gained increasing popularity after dueting with Maizono's group, Nidai Nekomaru, the man who coached many famous athletes, Asahina Aoi, Japan's number 1 female swimmer, Nanami Chikai, a gamer girl who had won titles far and wide playing a variety of different games, Enoshima Junko, a model whose face was on the cover of almost every magazine in the world at one time or another, Ikusaba Mukuro, Japan's greatest fighting machine, who was able to pull off extraordinary feats during the last war, and many, many, others.

But this story is going to focus on those last two, Enoshima Junko, and Ikusaba Mukuro. Unknown to most of the world, Junko and Mukuro were actually twins, with Junko changing her name for the press, and Mukuro changing her name for the army.

Junko, unknown to all but Mukuro, was a poacher. The sheer thought of being able to kill something and get away with it was intoxicating to her. Junko loved to feel the despair of her victims, and forced Mukuro too, as well.

This particular day, Junko decided she and her sister were going to hunt Monomi. Junko had said that she'd eaten Monomi meat at an underground bar about a year ago, and wanted Mukuro to try it too, as, when it was cooked well, Monomi meat was some of the best meat available. Despite many pleads against the idea, Junko snuck herself and Mukuro into the reserve, and began looking for a Monomi herd.

"Look at that!" Junko whispered, poking her sister and pointing at a group of about fifty Monomi, gathered around something. "Wonder what they're gathered around? Oh well, we'll find out soon enough!"

"Junko-Nee," Mukuro replied, "I seriously think this is a horrible idea. We could get fined, or go to jail, or DIE."

"Shut it." Junko hoisted her rifle up to her shoulder and fired a single bullet. A Monomi dropped to the ground, and the rest scattered. Junko dashed from the bushes, only to find what the Monomi were gathered around. A teenage boy, staring wide-eyed at her. In an instant, the boy was up, running away from Junko.

"Mukuro!" Junko screamed. "Follow him! Make sure he dies!" Mukuro exploded from the bushes and ran after the boy.

Naegi Makoto was no big deal. He was a loser, honestly. He never did feel like he was worth the fuss people made over Hope's Peak's youth. Now, he had the most dangerous girl, even person, in Japan chasing after him with a gun. _Please don't be a cliche movie moment where I trip over a branch,_ Naegi thought as he ran faster and faster through the trees. Gasping and hiccuping for breath, Naegi ran into a cave he knew for a fact had no Monokuma in it. A fairly large Monokuma died the day prior, and every creature in the forest was terrified to enter his former domain.

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, Naegi emerged from the cave, only to be tackled to the ground by Mukuro. A loud scream rang throughout the forest.

"P-Please don't kill me! I d-don't want t-t-to die! I'm not s-some super talented kid! I don't want to die!" Naegi pleaded. Mukuro stared down at the boy underneath her. Junko always told her about death's despair, but she never cared to listen. She only did what her sister said; she was told to do what others asked her whole life, after all.

"I don't want to kill you. But I don't want to die either, boy." Mukuro decided to retaliate. She added the boy part to make it seem as though she was still in control, a trick taught to her by a French mercenary she met when she was seven.

"You… don't?"

"No, of course not." Mukuro replied. "I'd rather not take the lives of innocent people. You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now, my sister has asked me to kill you. I would normally do this without a second thought, and I don't know why I'm going to let you go. Maybe it's because I'm feeling generous, maybe it's because you're cute, I don't know. But, I am going to let you live. So, what happens now? I'm going to make a small, non-lethal cut on your neck a spread the blood around so that it looks like a much bigger wound, and you are going to pretend to be dead."

"F-for how long?"

"Probably until dusk. Junko'll want to come back and see if you're really dead at about four P.M., so be watching out for us about then, okay?" As Mukuro said this, she pulled a knife out of her boot and made a small incision at the top of Naegi's neck, drawing blood. She then cut his forearm open and smeared that blood on the ground and on his neck. "Now, when you get home, which'll be about five o'clock, five-thirty, you're gonna need to patch up this wound on your arm, but this one on your neck will probably be healed by the time you get home."

"Thank you," Naegi said, cutting of Mukuro's wound-treating speech, "for saving my life."

"You're welcome." Mukuro replied, standing up and turning back to run to Junko.

"Oh, and Ikusaba-san?"

"Y-yes?" Mukuro said, intrigued at how this boy knew her name. She quickly realized that practically everyone knew her name.

"Just between us, I think you're cute, too." Mukuro blushed ear to ear, her back still turned.

"Th-thank you." She said, preparing to run back towards her sister.

"Mukuro! Look at what I caught!" Junko shouted, coming out of the bushes. Mukuro kicked Naegi firmly in the ribcage and turned him over on his stomach. Junko held up a handful of six Monomi.

"Junko-Nee! You'll be executed!"

"Is he dead?" Junko asked, ignoring her sister's exclamation.

"Don't you think he would've winced when I kicked him?"

"Yeah, yeah, okay. We're gonna go, 'kay? No reason to waste time over dead meat unless it's this Monomi meat."

"Okay. Let's." Junko and Mukuro snuck back out of the forest.

Naegi didn't stand for another four hours. He was too terrified Junko would come back and rip him to pieces, and possibly kill Mukuro, who was only being kind to him.

His legs felt tired, and his head was pounding. He stood once, fell over, and then slowly stood again, using a nearby tree for support.

"Ughhh…" He groaned, closing his eyes and pressing his hand to his forehead.

"Tsk. I knew it. That damn Mukuro." Naegi's head shot up. He looked to his immediate left to see Enoshima Junko leaned up against the side of the cave, a large semi-automatic shotgun draped across her chest.

"Oh my god…" Naegi said, staring terrified at the blonde.

"Oh don't worry, no harm will come to you. Mukuro's gonna fuckin get it though."

"No don't hurt her! She was just being kind to me!"

"Oh, do I sense a little crush? I'm not gonna kill her, that's waaaay too easy. Ha! I won't even hurt a hair on her head. But there'll be despair for sure. Goodbye, Makoto-chaaaan~!" Junko jumped up and dashed towards the forest entrance. Naegi noticed she was able to slide the gun into a backpack hidden beneath her hair.

Two days later, there was an emergency bulletin on TV.

"Ikusaba Mukuro, world-renowned soldier, has been charged with the killing and consuming of six of Hope's Peak's Monomi. Ikusaba, pleading not-guilty, will have a trial, held tomorrow at exactly eight a.m. Good morning, Hope's Peak, and have a happy Tuesday."

Naegi froze, dropping the cup of tea in his hands, sending it smashing to the ground.

"Makoto!" Naegi's mother screamed, running over to him. "What's the matter?!"

"N-nothing, mom. I-I just had a bit of a brain freeze."

"But you were drinking hot tea."

"I'm sorry… I guess I just was shocked to see that Ikusaba-san would ever do something like that."

"Well, I suppose that is normal." Naegi's mother said, handing him the broom, dustpan, and a damp rag. "Now, please clean this up." Naegi laughed slightly and took the items.

All day long, Naegi thought about Mukuro. With things like Monomi or Monokuma killings, the persecuted was forced to spend the day in the woods wearing only clothes given to them by the government. He decided he'd bring Mukuro dinner, since they didn't get any food. Packing up a two small bento boxes, Naegi filled his backpack and dashed off into the evening air.

He found Mukuro curled up in the fetal position next to the tree that, if things had gone differently, would have his blood spattered across it. She was shaking, and a soft, cough-like noise proved his suspicion of tears. He debated just leaving the box on the ground.

"Ikusaba-san…" He said after a solid three minutes of staring at her crying figure. Mukuro sat bolt upright and wiped the tears off her face. She turned to face Naegi.

"Oh, hi." Naegi sat down next to her and pulled out the food.

"You brought this for me?" She asked, staring at the bento. Naegi nodded. "Th-thank you." She swallowed hard. She broke her chopsticks and, after her prayer, began to eat. "This is all my fault. I should have just done what Sis asked."

"S-sister?" Naegi asked. "Do you mean Enoshima?"

"Yeah. She's my kid twin sister. We were born Kôtani Mukuro and Junko. I changed my name for the army, she changed her name for the press. And you have to understand.

"My entire life, I've been given orders and taught to take them without any questions. I am a literal human fighting machine. I don't blink at the sight of death, and a kill without the slightest hesitation, as long as it was an order. In reality, I'm a good girl. I don't pick needless fights, or do anything people would think of as quote-unquote 'malicious.'

"I came back from fighting as a French mercenary a year ago. Sis had naturally become a giver of orders, and I had been molded into a take of them. So, it seemed fate decided the older would bow to the younger.

"I didn't know Sis was a poacher. One day, she came home with a dead Monomi. I freaked out, but she told me it was fine. She didn't force me to eat it, she didn't ever ask me to hunt with her, so I didn't care much about it. Until, of course, she asked me to yesterday." Mukuro put her head in her hands and shook with the force of her tears. "I just… I just want to… to go home. B-but I don't even know where home is anymore… Certainly not with that backstabbing _bitch_ of a twin… Why… why would she do this to me? All I ever, _ever_, did was follow her goddamn orders!" Mukuro's scream shook the entire forest. A Monomi hopped by and Mukuro sobbed even louder.

"Despair…" Naegi whispered, staring at his bento with the startling realization that was what was going on.

"Wh…what?" Mukuro asked, casting a sideways, tear-filled glance at him.

"A few hours after you left, I got up to go home. Enoshima… she… she was there. Waiting for me to get up or whatever. And she said that she wouldn't hurt you, but there'd be despair for sure. I didn't know what it meant until now…" Mukuro rubbed her eyes again.

"Despair. I loathe that word with every fiber of my being. I can't even put into words my complete and utter hatred for fucking _despair_. And Sis is obsessed with it. She believes that every. Single. Goddamn. Person. On this fucking planet should have access to despair, 24/7, 365! And what for? If they're bad people who have done bad things, absolutely the deserve despair, but good, innocent people? What did they EVER do to ANYONE? They don't deserve despair. You don't deserve despair. And I can tell that's what's clouding your mind now."

"I'm okay with that. It doesn't matter. I'm not going to let you die. I swear, it'll be Junko getting that lethal injection or hanged, or whatever. You're not dying any time soon." Naegi said, staring firmly into Mukuro's eyes.

"Can you give me a hug before I talk myself into just letting them kill me?" She asked, and Naegi's arms were instantly around the girl, the bento set next to her. She buried her face in his shoulder and said, "thank you, boy."

"It's Naegi Makoto." Naegi replied, tightening his grip on Mukuro. "And, I promise, it'll be alright."

"I appreciate that lie more than you think I do." Mukuro whispered, and the tears began once more.

The next morning, Ikusaba Mukuro stood in front of a judge, her eyes red from the flood of tears from the day before. The bailiff said,

"I would like to call one other person to the stand. Naegi Makoto, who Ikusaba-san claims to have been at the scene when the crime occurred." Junko, sitting in the back of the room, froze up.

"Very well." Naegi stood from his seat and sat down behind the bench.

"Naegi-san, would you care to explain what you saw in the forest two nights ago at the time of the Monomi killings?"

"Well, it was M—Ikusaba-san who fired that gun, that's for sure." Naegi began. "Every Monday during the summer, I like to eat my lunch in the forest, with the Monomi in this little spot by a river.

"That day, I had finished my lunch and stretched out on the banks of the river. A group of curious Monomi came over to see what the heck I was doing. That's when the firs shot was fired. One of the Monomi fell, the rest scattered, and I sat upright. The voice screamed,

"'Mukuro! Follow him! Make sure he dies!', at which pint Ikusaba-san burst out of the tree line. I'd started to run, and she began to chase me. Once she finally caught up to me, she decided to let me live. She told me to stay quiet, and play dead. I did, but not for long enough, because the person Ikusaba-san was with showed up and told me there'd be despair for sure."

"And who was this person Ikusaba-san was with; if she didn't kill the Monomi, who did?"

"Enoshima Junko." Naegi replied coldly. Junko paled. "It was Enoshima Junko. I swear, it was her."

"Not even suffixes. They must be close, or he must really resent her…" Someone whispered miscellaneously from the center of the room.

"Can you prove it?"

"Can _you_ prove Ikusaba-san did it?"

"I am asking questions."

"Overruled."

"I was sent a photo of what appeared to be Ikusaba-san eating Monomi."

"And you didn't check for doctoring? You didn't think someone was framing her at all? Ikusaba-san is a soldier; she knows not to take lives unnecessarily.

"I talked to her yesterday. She said Enoshima forced her into coming poaching, but she didn't do any killing!"

"Is this true, Ikusaba-san?" The bailiff asked. Mukuro nodded solemnly.

"Then I move all charges against my client be dropped."

"Accepted." The gavel was smashed. Junko stood up.

"What the fuck?! This punk stands up, says some shit and then this bitch walks?! That is NOT part of the law!"

"Sit down, Enoshima-san, or you will be charged with disorderly conduct." Said the judge. Junko sat with a grimace.

"Court is adjourned." The majority of the people in the room left. The second she was allowed, Mukuro ran up and hugged Naegi, practically crushing his lungs.

"Thank you." She whispered into his shoulder. "Thank you so, so much."

A few weeks later, Naegi walked through the forest. He sat next to the riverbank and pulled out two bento boxes. Footsteps crunched on the grass behind him, and a figure sat. Ikusaba Mukuro smiled at the boy and prayed quickly before indulging in the food.

She ate in near silence, only making noise to whisper sweet-nothing's to the Monomi she would pet. She handed out carrots to the tiny herd of rabbits. She felt it was her duty, as she was the only remaining Kôtani sister.


End file.
